Derek Jeter’s first steps back toward 3,000 career hits should take place this weekend before a sellout crowd, about 60 miles down the New Jersey Turnpike from his usual home in the Bronx.
The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, have sold out the July 2 night game in anticipation of Jeter starting a rehabilitation assignment.
Jeter, the Yankees’ 37-year-old shortstop and captain, hasn’t played since straining his right calf on June 13 and is six hits shy of 3,000 for his Major League Baseball career.
Though the Thunder haven’t been notified that Jeter will be with the team this weekend, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said yesterday that in the best-case scenario, Jeter would begin his assignment in Trenton against the Altoona Curve, probably with the third game of the four-game series that begins tonight.
“Just based on the speculation, we are standing-room-only for Saturday night, and Sunday is getting close already,” Thunder spokesman Bill Cook said today in a telephone interview. “Overnight here especially, we’ve seen a lot of tickets move.”
Trenton’s 6,150-seat Mercer County Waterfront Park has averaged 5,277 fans a game this season, Cook said. This weekend’s games will have increased security to match the demand, he said.
“For a guy of Jeter’s stature, obviously, security is a concern,” Cook said. “With the big crowd, we’ll ramp up everything for an event like these are going to be.”
“I feel a lot better,” Jeter said on the Yankees’ website. “I’m ready to get out of (Tampa) now.”
Jeter told the Associated Press he would be with the Thunder on July 2 and 3, then rejoin the Yankees on July 4 for their road series against the Cleveland Indians.
There is no protocol or timetable for the Yankees notifying the Thunder when Jeter’s assignment will begin, Cook said, and Yankees spokesman Jason Latimer said in a telephone interview that the major-league club had no announcement on the shortstop’s next move
On the Yankees’ website, Cashman said Jeter had “tested pretty good” through yesterday’s workouts.
“If all goes well, he could be looking at a rehab assignment as early as Saturday,” the general manager said.
The largest baseball crowd in the history of Waterfront Park also was drawn by a Yankee star on a short-term assignment.
“With Clemens, we had so much more notice, but these tickets are flying right now, so who knows,” he said.
Jeter was hitting .260 with two home runs and 39 runs scored before the injury. This is his first stint on the disabled list since his shoulder injury eight years ago. The Yankees captain has begun running bases and taking ground balls, manager Joe Girardi said in a press conference yesterday.
“He’s definitely going in the right direction,” Girardi said. He added that Jeter’s calf “was not full strength.”
The Thunder play in the Eastern League and are 46-32, one game behind the first-place New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate, in the Eastern division.
The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, have sold out the July 2 night game in anticipation of Jeter starting a rehabilitation assignment.
Jeter, the Yankees’ 37-year-old shortstop and captain, hasn’t played since straining his right calf on June 13 and is six hits shy of 3,000 for his Major League Baseball career.
Though the Thunder haven’t been notified that Jeter will be with the team this weekend, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said yesterday that in the best-case scenario, Jeter would begin his assignment in Trenton against the Altoona Curve, probably with the third game of the four-game series that begins tonight.
“Just based on the speculation, we are standing-room-only for Saturday night, and Sunday is getting close already,” Thunder spokesman Bill Cook said today in a telephone interview. “Overnight here especially, we’ve seen a lot of tickets move.”
Trenton’s 6,150-seat Mercer County Waterfront Park has averaged 5,277 fans a game this season, Cook said. This weekend’s games will have increased security to match the demand, he said.
“For a guy of Jeter’s stature, obviously, security is a concern,” Cook said. “With the big crowd, we’ll ramp up everything for an event like these are going to be.”
Set to Move
Jeter worked out today in Tampa, Florida, and said he was set to play.“I feel a lot better,” Jeter said on the Yankees’ website. “I’m ready to get out of (Tampa) now.”
Jeter told the Associated Press he would be with the Thunder on July 2 and 3, then rejoin the Yankees on July 4 for their road series against the Cleveland Indians.
There is no protocol or timetable for the Yankees notifying the Thunder when Jeter’s assignment will begin, Cook said, and Yankees spokesman Jason Latimer said in a telephone interview that the major-league club had no announcement on the shortstop’s next move
On the Yankees’ website, Cashman said Jeter had “tested pretty good” through yesterday’s workouts.
“If all goes well, he could be looking at a rehab assignment as early as Saturday,” the general manager said.
The largest baseball crowd in the history of Waterfront Park also was drawn by a Yankee star on a short-term assignment.
Clemens’ Draw
An appearance by Roger Clemens with the Thunder in 2007, when he was coming out of retirement during the season, attracted a crowd of 9,134. Jeter’s rehab assignment from a shoulder injury in 2003 drew the second-, fourth- and fifth- largest crowds, and Cook said it was too early to tell if the shortstop’s latest visit could top the mark.“With Clemens, we had so much more notice, but these tickets are flying right now, so who knows,” he said.
Jeter was hitting .260 with two home runs and 39 runs scored before the injury. This is his first stint on the disabled list since his shoulder injury eight years ago. The Yankees captain has begun running bases and taking ground balls, manager Joe Girardi said in a press conference yesterday.
“He’s definitely going in the right direction,” Girardi said. He added that Jeter’s calf “was not full strength.”
The Thunder play in the Eastern League and are 46-32, one game behind the first-place New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate, in the Eastern division.
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